World War I Terms

Allies, Triple Entente

The series of interlocking secret alliances between nations were one of the main things that made World War I such a massive war. The Allies, also known as the Triple Entente, were originally comprised of Britain, France and Russia. After the beginning of the war, Italy joined the Allied side. In 1917, Russia pulled out of the war following the Bolshevik Revolution. The United States joined the Allies in April 1917.

Barbed Wire

A type of fencing material invented in 1873 and patented by Joseph Glidden in 1873 and first utilized by landholders on the American Great Plains. During World War I, both the Allied armies and the forces of the Central Powers laid barbed wire by the mile in front of trenches to slow enemy attacks, and many soldiers were either killed by the barbs or trapped in the wire and then shot by enemy gunners.

Central Powers

The "Imperial" side of World War I, made up principally of the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. They were joined by Bulgaria later in the war.

Espionage Act Of 1917, Espionage Act

This federal law was passed on 15 June 1917, just a few months after the United States entered World War I. The statute imposed a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to twenty years in prison for anyone who interfered with the draft or otherwise encouraged disloyalty.

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson drafted this plan for peace in 1918. He presented it at the Versailles peace conference following World War I, but failed to winincorporation of all fourteen points into the finalized treaty.

President Woodrow Wilson's plan for international peace following World War I. It included calls for unrestricted trade between nations, no secret alliances, arms limitations, and the founding of an international organization to mediate international disputes (the League of Nations).

Jim Crow

Jim Crow laws restricted blacks from entering many public and private facilities designated for whites, including parks, libraries, schools, restaurants, bathrooms, markets, bars, pools, and even brothels. After the 1870s, Jim Crow restrictions were most prevalent in the South, where nearly 90% of the nation's black population lived. However, before the American Civil War, Jim Crow laws had existed outside the South in cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

The term "Jim Crow" was first coined in the 1830s by American audiences who watched Thomas "Daddy" Rice, a white man performing in blackface, portray a comic black slave who danced and sang with glee. By the early 1900s, the term had come to describe the institutionalized system of segregation that kept blacks and whites separate in schools, restaurants, theaters, bathrooms, pools, buses, bars, markets, libraries and all other public facilities in the American South.

The term "Jim Crow" was first coined in the 1830s by American audiences who watched Thomas "Daddy" Rice, a white man performing in black face, portray a comic black slave who danced and sang with glee. By the early 1900s, the term had come to describe the institutionalized system of segregation that kept blacks and whites separate in schools, restaurants, theaters, bathrooms, pools, buses, bars, markets, libraries and all other public facilities in the American South.

A minstrel-show character first introduced by white actor Thomas "Daddy" Rice in the 1830s. The name of this buffoonish, black caricature became synonymous with racial segregation in the post-Civil War era.

The term "Jim Crow" was first coined in the 1830s by American audiences who watched Thomas "Daddy" Rice, a white man performing in blackface, portray a comic black slave who danced and sang with glee. By the early 1900s, the term had come to describe the institutionalized system of segregation that kept blacks and whites separate in schools, restaurants, theaters, bathrooms, pools, buses, bars, markets, libraries and all other public facilities in the American South.

Lynching

A practice, particularly common in the South during the decades following Reconstruction, in which a black person suspected of committing a crime or social transgression was murdered by a white mob. Lynching murders were often performed in public, before large crowds, and without the intervention of law enforcement authorities.

No Man's Land

A term used to describe the area between opposing trenches during World War I. No Man's Land could be as wide as several miles or as narrow as a few hundred feet, but it was always dangerously alive with bullets, artillery shells and, sometimes, poison gas.

"Rape Of Belgium"

The name given by British propaganda to alleged German atrocities in Belgium early in World War I. As a neutral country in 1914, Belgium tried to stay out of the war, but German forces invaded and, according to the Allies, raped and plundered their way through the country. Debate still rages over the truth of the Allied claims, but the impact of the Allied propaganda was profound in the US.

Sedition Act Of 1918, Sedition Act

The United States Congress passed this act in May 1918. Even more repressive than the earlier Espionage Act, the Sedition Act criminalized the production of antiwar materials and the delivery of any speech deemed unpatriotic or detrimental to the war effort. In addition, under the statute, anyone who discouraged military recruiting, interfered with government bond sales, or criticized the government, the Constitution, service uniforms, or the flag could be fined or imprisoned.

War Of Attrition

A type of military strategy based on wearing down the enemy through continuous warfare. In such conflicts, typically, the power with the greatest resources—personnel, ammunition, military vehicles, and other supplies—will eventually be victorious.